Production Manager

Concrete may not sound glamorous until you realise it's holding up half the country. Every pipe, manhole and precast unit that leaves our Canada Crescent site ends up somewhere in New Zealand — quietly doing its job for the next 100 years.

We're looking for a Production Manager to lead the team that makes it happen. This is a hands-on, floor-to-strategy leadership role for someone who loves manufacturing, backs their people, and takes real pride in getting quality product out the door safely, on time, and on cost.

About Hynds

Hynds is a proudly family-owned New Zealand company, and the country's leading manufacturer of reinforced concrete pipe and precast products. Since 1973 we've grown into a nationwide business — seven manufacturing plants, a network of branches, and more than 500 people — but we've held onto what matters: we're a place where people matter, we do what's right, and we back each other. Canada Crescent is one of our flagship precast and spun concrete sites, and it's where you come in.

About The Role

Reporting to the Site Manager, you'll hold end-to-end ownership for the safe and accurate manufacture of our precast and spun concrete products — labour, moulds, materials, casting, lifting, labelling and QC sign-off. More than that, you'll set the tone for the whole site.

Day To Day, You Will

• Lead a strong safety culture where everyone heads home safe and well — driving 5S, safe loading and delivery, isolation practices, and fast reporting of near misses.
• Run the production floor — align labour and hours to the plan, coordinate work centres, and deliver quality product on time and to cost (or better).
• Own performance and cost — track actuals against BOMs and budgets, lift labour and machine utilisation, cut rework and variance, and hold the team to clear KPIs.
• Drive quality — apply Hynds and customer standards, act on non-conformances on the spot, and manage both standard precast and bespoke M-Special production.
• Improve the process — partner with our Process, Materials & Quality team and Process Engineers on 'Critical to Quality' and 'Delivery to Promise’ and sharpen QC/QA and production reporting through our M3 ERP.
• Grow your people — coach, mentor and develop the team, lead training and performance, and build a culture people actually want to be part of.

What You'll Bring

• A tertiary engineering qualification (BE or equivalent).
• Experience leading a precast or pipes production hall and teams.
• In-depth technical knowledge of precast and spun manufacturing — including problem-solving around concrete materials, mixes and curing.
• A solid grip on production scheduling, reporting, and quality frameworks.
• The ability to drive H&S focus and on-time performance through measures and reporting.
• Confidence talking shop with Sales and Production Engineers — technically astute, solutions-driven, detail-focused.
• Computer literacy including MS Office / Excel; a full driver's licence (gantry-crane skills and a forklift licence are a bonus).

Above all, you're a people-centred leader — decisive, calm under pressure, big on continuous improvement, and someone who leads by living the values rather than reciting them.

What We Offer

• Company Vehicle
• Health insurance (subject to eligibility)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to company partner discounts

At Hynds, we believe diverse teams make better decisions and stronger businesses. We're committed to an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcomed, supported and encouraged to thrive. If you meet most of the criteria and are excited about this opportunity, we encourage you to apply — even if you don't tick every box.

Interested? Don't wait — hit Apply now, and we'll be in touch!